I'm going to run my first demo game in two weeks, and there's a very real possibility that I'll have 6-7 players. I'm excited about Burning Wheel, and really don't want to tell part of the group to stay home. So, What I really need are some ideas for extra characters. Here are my thoughts so far....

1) Increase the size of the Roden contingent. Have a 2nd (3rd even?) Roden whose goal is to supplant the first and become leader himself.

2) Add guardians. A group of guardians would fill the roster, but could then make more use of the Fight! mechanics, and I'm hoping to showcase the Duel of Wits.

3) Add a second elf whose beliefs include something like "the guilty must be punished", so conflict with the elven bard is possible.

4) Add another dwarf, who is very similar but also wants the sword for himself. The dwarves could be very powerful together, but would be easy to divide as well.

So, which of these are good? Are there any hidden pitfalls that I've missed?Thanks,Z

So, I finally got my demo scheduled. It ran pretty well. I chose it to showcase the Duel of Wits mechanism, and because it was closest to the RPGA games that the group is used to. We had a great time, but of course questions arose....

1) On the Duel of Wits script sheet, the Dismiss vs. Rebuttal box is different than the Rebuttal vs. Dismiss box. Is this a typo? If not, when do you read across the table, and when do you read down?

2) When you are scripting actions in volleys, you can get to a point where one side has two actions (ex. Strike, Block) and the other side has one (ex. Avoid) Does the Avoid match up with the Strike, or with the Block? Matching Avoid with Strike is an advantage for the slower party, and vice versa.

1) On the Duel of Wits script sheet, the Dismiss vs. Rebuttal box is different than the Rebuttal vs. Dismiss box. Is this a typo? If not, when do you read across the table, and when do you read down?

Sorry for the confusion. They actually say the same thing but in different ways. Just as with all other actions in which a Rebuttal works, the player who has scripted the Rebuttal must divide his dice into an offensive portion and a defensive portion. The defensive portion can be used to defend against a dismiss.

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2) When you are scripting actions in volleys, you can get to a point where one side has two actions (ex. Strike, Block) and the other side has one (ex. Avoid) Does the Avoid match up with the Strike, or with the Block? Matching Avoid with Strike is an advantage for the slower party, and vice versa.

First actions only match up with first actions and second actions only match up with second actions. So in this case, the Strike would match up with the Avoid and the Block would match up with nothing. So the player would have been better off scripting Block, Strike than going with Strike, Block.